the whole thing
"One of them, realizing that he had been cured, came back praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself on his face at the feet of Jesus and spoke His praises." —Luke 17:15-16
After Jesus healed the ten lepers, one of the lepers also received faith, the grace to worship Jesus, and the greatest gift, salvation (Lk 17:19). Because of the Lord's perfect love, He wants to do more in our lives than heal us. We should not receive only healing from the Lord.
Especially for Christians, the Lord works in the reverse order from the way He worked with the lepers. Instead of healing us first, He heals us last. He gives us faith and salvation first. He calls us to abandon our lives to Him and throw ourselves at His feet not after, but before healing us.
God's healing usually comes to us in a package. Healing accompanies the proclamation of our faith (Mk 16:15, 17-18), the ministry of the word (Mk 16:20), repentance (see Jn 5:14), deliverance (see Mt 9:32-33), evangelization (see Acts 3:12ff), etc. God's healing not only comes in His package, but also in His order. For example, one person is called to repent after being healed (see Lk 10:13); others must repent before healing. Sometimes healing leads to evangelization (Acts 3:7ff); at other times, evangelization leads to healing (see Mt 10:7-8).
To receive and share God's healing, we should accept all that the Lord wants to give in the order in which He wants to give it. Jesus will be our Healer if we first accept Him as our Lord.
Prayer: Father, may I let You do it Your way.
Promise: "For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test." —Wis 6:6
Praise: Although originally refused entrance into a convent because of health reasons, St. Frances took her own private vow of virginity.
Reference: (For related teaching, order our booklet, Healing: The Imitation of Christ.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, May 22, 2013
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